2011 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Martina, Elio Grasso, Piedmont

Boasting one of the best Barbera available, Gianluca cites 2011 as an ideal vintage for the grape, having picked two to three weeks earlier than normal thanks to the generous warmth. Thanks to some clever vineyard positioning, this has great freshness and, having been matured in French oak, has an attractive wood-smoke aroma to compliment the pure, ripe fruit, with texture and concentration rounding off the palate.